One Can Help receives $100K grant to help at-risk, foster children

Tuesday

One Can Help announced it will receive a groundbreaking $100,000 grant from the Cummings Foundation.

The donation will help at-risk and foster children stymied by poverty across Massachusetts.

One Can Help was created in 2006 by juvenile court attorneys and social workers who saw the futility of trying to help vulnerable children and families build better futures without essential resources.

“This program is one of historic proportions,” said former Medford Mayor Michael J. McGlynn, who sits on the Cummings Foundation’s selection committee. “Lawyers and social workers coming together to help those in need – their actions go beyond the boundaries of their daily work obligations.”

One Can Help’s targeted assistance can improve lives, keep families together, reduce the need for foster care, decrease homelessness and help juvenile court and child welfare systems be more supportive, effective and equitable for all.

"Heartbreaking situations take place every day in Massachusetts' juvenile courts because most families are low-income and simply can’t access the basic resources all children need to thrive," said founder Anne Bader-Martin, a longtime juvenile court attorney. "We are thankful to the Cummings Foundation for their game-changing donation, which will have far-reaching impact."

A Boston University student-led, faculty-advised group recently analyzed One Can Help's 2017 data. The study concluded that the nonprofit's innovative approach not only improved lives, it also helped save Massachusetts' state taxpayers $9 million to $11 million in 2017 by reducing the need for foster care, keeping more families together, helping families avoid homelessness, supporting vulnerable children and making courts run more efficiently.